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Leadership calls for rescinding of U.S. executive order that renames the lake for federal use
The Seneca Nation is continuing to push for the reversal of a U.S. executive order that directs federal agencies to call Lake Ontario “Lake America.”
President J. Conrad Seneca has argued the order shows disrespect for the Indigenous origin of the name and conflicts with the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, signed between the United States and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The name Ontario comes from a Wendat term meaning “lake of shining waters” and predates both the United States and Canada.
The order, signed in late August, applies only to U.S. federal maps, documents and databases. Canada has rejected the change. Google and Apple maps have already begun displaying “Lake America” for users in the United States while keeping the original name in Canada.
Seneca Nation leadership has framed the move as an attempt to erase Indigenous place names through political action. The 30-day window for U.S. agencies to update official records remains open.
Originally published in the Two Row Times, September 9, 2026 (Volume 14, Issue 4), page 10.